Charles de Lorraine, Prince de Commercy (11 July 1661 – 15 August 1702), was a French

field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

and a military advisor to Prince

Eugene of Savoy Prince Eugene Francis of Savoy-Carignano (18 October 1663 – 21 April 1736), better known as Prince Eugene, was a distinguished Generalfeldmarschall, field marshal in the Army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty durin ...

. He acquired military prominence after leading imperial troops in the

Great Turkish War The Great Turkish War () or The Last Crusade, also called in Ottoman sources The Disaster Years (), was a series of conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and the Holy League (1684), Holy League consisting of the Holy Roman Empire, Polish–Lith ...

, in the

Nine Years' War The Nine Years' War was a European great power conflict from 1688 to 1697 between Kingdom of France, France and the Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg), Grand Alliance. Although largely concentrated in Europe, fighting spread to colonial poss ...

, and the

War of Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish ...

Life

Charles de Lorraine was born 11 July 1661 in

Bar-le-Duc Bar-le-Duc (), formerly known as Bar, is a commune in the Meuse département, of which it is the capital. The department is in Grand Est in northeastern France. The lower, more modern and busier part of the town extends along a narrow valley, ...

, in the

Duchy of Lorraine The Duchy of Lorraine was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire which existed from the 10th century until 1766 when it was annexed by the kingdom of France. It gave its name to the larger present-day region of Lorraine in northeastern France ...

. He belonged to the

Elbeuf Elbeuf () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. Geography A light industrial town situated by the banks of the Seine some south of Rouen at the junction of the D7, D321 and the D313 roads. The ...

cadet branch A cadet branch consists of the male-line descendants of a monarch's or patriarch's younger sons ( cadets). In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets (realm, titles, fiefs, property and incom ...

of the ruling dynasty of that duchy, domiciled in France. His father was Francois de Lorraine, Comte de Lillebonne, a

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

commander in the French army. His mother was Anne of Lorraine, daughter of Duke Charles IV. His paternal grandmother was

Catherine Henriette de Bourbon Catherine Henriette de Bourbon (also Catherine Henrietta de Vendôme, Duchesse d'Elbeuf) (11 November 1596 – 20 June 1663) was an illegitimate daughter of King Henry IV of France and his long-term '' maîtresse en titre'' Gabrielle d'Estrées ...

, an illegitimate daughter of

Henry IV of France Henry IV (; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry (''le Bon Roi Henri'') or Henry the Great (''Henri le Grand''), was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 16 ...

. Commercy was never married and had no children. He died during the

in the

Battle of Luzzara The Battle of Luzzara took place in Lombardy on 15 August 1702 during the War of the Spanish Succession, between a combined French and Savoyard army under Louis Joseph, duc de Vendôme, and an Imperial force under Prince Eugene. Conflict in ...

. He was Duke of Joyeuse but after Charles entered into the service of

Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I (Leopold Ignaz Joseph Balthasar Franz Felician; ; 9 June 1640 – 5 May 1705) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, List of Croatian monarchs, Croatia, and List of Bohemian monarchs, Bohemia. The second son of Ferdinand III, Holy Rom ...

, Louis XIV confiscated the duchy and gave it to Charles' younger brother Jean Paul.

Military career

Initially Charles of Lorraine joined the French army. In May 1684, he abandoned the French army, in order to join the troops of the Holy Roman Empire. Commercy joined as a volunteer in the imperial forces in the

. In the beginning of the war he served as a consultant of

Charles V, Duke of Lorraine Charles V, Duke of Lorraine and Bar (; ; 3 April 1643 – 18 April 1690) succeeded his uncle Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine as titular Duke of Lorraine and Bar in 1675; both duchies were occupied by France from 1634 to 1661 and 1670 to 1697. Bo ...

, in his negotiations with Friedrich VII, Margrave of Baden-Durlach. In 1685 he took part in the siege of

Nové Zámky Nové Zámky (; ) is a town in Nové Zámky District in the Nitra Region of southwestern Slovakia. Geography The town is located on the Danubian Lowland, on the Nitra River, at an altitude of 119 metres. It is located around 100 km fr ...

, where he was injured. In the same year he was one of the commanders in the second

Battle of Buda (1686) The siege of Buda (1686) () was a military engagement during the Great Turkish War, in which forces of the Holy League, led by the Habsburg Monarchy, recaptured the fortified city of Buda (now part of modern-day Budapest) from the Ottoman Empir ...

, where he was also injured. On 11 October 1685 he was promoted to General Field Sergeant. On 23 November 1685

Emperor Leopold I Leopold I (Leopold Ignaz Joseph Balthasar Franz Felician; ; 9 June 1640 – 5 May 1705) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, List of Croatian monarchs, Croatia, and List of Bohemian monarchs, Bohemia. The second son of Ferdinand III, Holy Rom ...

granted him a personal guard of

cuirassiers A cuirassier ( ; ; ) was a cavalryman equipped with a cuirass, sword, and pistols. Cuirassiers first appeared in mid-to-late 16th century Europe as a result of armoured cavalry, such as men-at-arms and demi-lancers discarding their lances an ...

to reward him for his achievement during the Great Turkish War. In 1688 Charles of Lorraine was one of the commanders during the siege of Belgrade. After the successful siege of the city he was promoted to

Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was normall ...

. Commercy during those years became one of the most trusted lieutenants of

. After the outbreak of the

, he went to the

Rhineland The Rhineland ( ; ; ; ) is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly Middle Rhine, its middle section. It is the main industrial heartland of Germany because of its many factories, and it has historic ties to the Holy ...

as a general of the

. In 1690 he defended the city of

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

against the French army and in 1691 he attended the Congress of the League of Augsburg at The Hague.London Gazette, Issue 2642, 5-9 March 1691 In 1692 he was promoted to cavalry general. In the same year he took part in the siege of Embrun, during which he was shot. On 12 May 1696 he was promoted to imperial

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

and led Austrian troops in the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish E ...

. He took part in the Battle of Carpi and in the Battle of Chiari on 1 September 1701. On 1 February 1702 he was one of the commanders of the during the Battle of Cremona. He died on 15 August 1702 during the

in Cremona, after being shot several times. Charles of Lorraine was buried in Nancy in the graveyard of the

House of Lorraine The House of Lorraine () originated as a cadet branch of the House of Metz. It inherited the Duchy of Lorraine in 1473 after the death without a male heir of Nicholas I, Duke of Lorraine. By the marriage of Francis of Lorraine to Maria Ther ...

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Charles Of Lorraine 1661 births 1702 deaths People from Bar-le-Duc Austrian army commanders in the War of the Spanish Succession House of Lorraine House of Guise 17th-century French military personnel 18th-century French military personnel Field marshals of the Holy Roman Empire